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212 LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS

colored men, among whom were the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet and J. W.
Loguen. In speaking of him their voices would drop to a whisper, and what
they said of him made me very eager to see and know him. Fortunately I was
invited to see him in his own house. At the time to which I now refer this
man was a respectable merchant in a populous and thriving city, and our
first place of meeting was at his store. This was a substantial brick building,
on a prominent, busy street. A glance at the interior, as well as at the massive
walls without, gave me the impression that the owner must be a man of considerable
wealth. From this store I was conducted to his house, where I was
kindly received as an expected guest. My welcome was all I could have
asked. Every member of the family, young and old, seemed glad to see me,
and I was made much at home in a very little while. I was, however, a little
disappointed with the appearance of the house and with its location. After
seeing the fine store I was prepared to see a fine residence, in an eligible
locality, but this conclusion was completely dispelled by actual observation.
In fact, the house was neither commodious nor elegant, nor its situation
desirable. It was a small wooden building, on a back street, in a neighbor-
hood chiefly occupied by laboring men and mechanics; respectable enough
to be sure, but not quite the place, I thought, where one would look for the
residence of a flourishing and successful merchant. Plain as was the outside
of this man's house, the inside was plainer. Its furniture would have satisfied
a Spartan. It would take longer to tell what was not in this house than what
was in it. There was an air of plainness about it which almost suggested
destitution. My first meal passed under the misnomer of tea, though there
was nothing about it resembling the usual significance of that term. It consisted
of beef soup, cabbage, and potatoes; a meal such as a man might relish
after following the plow all day, or performing a forced march of a dozen
miles over a rough road in frosty weather. Innocent of paint, veneering,
varnish, or table-cloth, the table announced itself unmistakably of pine and
of the plainest workmanship. There was no hired help visible. The mother,
daughters, and sons did the serving and did it well. They were evidently used
to it, and had no thought of any impropriety or degradation in being their
own servants. It is said that a house in some measure reflects the character
of its occupants; this one certainly did. In it there were no disguises, no illusions,
no make believes. Everything implied stern truth, solid purpose, and
rigid economy. I was not long in company with the master of this house
before I discovered that he was indeed the master of it, and was likely to
become mine too if I stayed long enough with him. He fulfilled St. Paul's
idea of the head of the family. His wife believed in him, and his children